


self pride (i’m so proud)

by sixofclarkes



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bi Visibilty Day, Bisexual Bellamy Blake, Bisexual Male Character, Canon Non-Binary Character, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Good Sibling Bellamy Blake, M/M, Pride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26619634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixofclarkes/pseuds/sixofclarkes
Summary: happy bisexual visibility day <3enjoy some happy, unadulterated fluffof bisexual bellarke!
Relationships: Bellamy Blake & Emori, Bellamy Blake & Madi, Bellamy Blake & Nathan Miller, Bellamy Blake & Octavia Blake, Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin & Madi Griffin, Emori/John Murphy (The 100), Jasper Jordan/Maya (The 100), John Murphy & Clarke Griffin, Monty Green & Jasper Jordan, Monty Green/Nathan Miller, Raven Reyes/Octavia Blake
Comments: 3
Kudos: 43





	self pride (i’m so proud)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iwearplaids](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwearplaids/gifts).



"Clarke?"

Bellamy slowly opens the door to the apartment, peering around the corner. Behind him, Madi peaked around his leg, careful not to knock around the giant box Bellamy was carrying under his shoulder.

A moment of silence passed before the two of them glanced at each other and they grinned and hurried into the main room, setting the box down and getting to work.

"Madi, get some scissors before you go find out where Clarke is."

The little girl huffed in mock annoyance, turning before Bellamy could see her face, but he wasn't concerned. The two of them had taken well to each other since he and Clarke had started dating four months prior, and even before then, when she first came under Clarke's care, Bellamy and Madi were always close. She was like a little Octavia, stubborn to a fault and proud of it.

She ruffled around in the drawers for a moment before producing a pair of large light blue scissors. "These good?" she asked, showing them to him.

Bellamy nodded, a soft smile on his face. “Perfect. Come here.”

Madi stepped forward and Bellamy helped her fit the scissors into the tape covering the label, carefully tearing the case open.

A moment later, the two of them pulled back the top and peered inside.

“This everything?” Bellamy checked, glancing over at her. Madi nodded, reaching inside to pick up a plastic box, filled with a rainbow of different pastel colors.

“The facepaint is right here, and I think the flags are in the other box by the door.”

“Cool,” Bellamy hummed, taking the box from the girl and shifting it under his arm. “You wanna go find Clarke now?”

Madi nodded vehemently, taking off, and Bellamy watched her go, a small smile on his face, despite the ache in his chest. She was so much like both Clarke and Octavia, the two most important women in his life, that it hurt.

After waiting another moment to let Madi get a headstart, Bellamy followed. As he made his way over to the bedroom that he and Clarke shared, the soft sound of Katy Perry blasting from Clarke’s room and he grinned. His girlfriend had started to fall back into her Katy Perry phase thanks to Madi and Raven, and it was practically a given that when she was listening to music, it would end up being her.

Bellamy knocked on the bedroom door, pausing before pushing it open and taking in the scene in front of him.

Madi and Clarke were both splayed on the bed, and Clarke was rummaging through a cardboard box next to her, decorated with glitter and sparkles. Her hair was done up in a loose bun that was threatening to fall, and only wore a tank top and leggings.

At the sound of the door, the two of them looked up, eyes lighting up and grinning when they saw Bellamy with the plastic container waiting.

“Hey, princess,” Bellamy said, grinning as Clarke jumped up to hug him. She planted a soft kiss on his cheek, her hand automatically moving to rub his back gently.

“Nice of you to join us, Blake,” Clarke responded with a smirk, turning to face Madi while wrapping herself under his chin. “Hey Mads? Quick question.”

From the bed, the little brunette looked up from where she was neatly lining up the nail polish, and immediately shifted to hide what colors they were before either Bellamy or Clarke could see them.

“Hmm?”

“Does whatever you’re doing with my nail polish have to do with the facepaint tray Bellamy is holding?” Clarke questioned with a knowing grin on her face, the kind of devious look that made Bellamy want to kiss her senseless. Instead he opted to place a kiss in her hair before looking up at Madi.

“Maybe,” Madi responded, not quite meeting her mom’s eyes.

Bellamy snorted. “We may as well show her, Madi.”

With an over dramatic sigh- which Clarke giggled at and Bellamy’s breath caught at the sound- Madi rolled to the side, revealing three sets of nail polish containers, some remover, and nail strengthener. Clarke’s breath caught when she saw the colors.

Pink, purple, blue.

She turned to Bellamy, surprise clearly evident in her gorgeous blue eyes, and he grinned, pulling her to the bed and showing her the case.

“I know that technically Pride was earlier this week, but this is for O’s Pride party tonight,” he started, watching as she gently pried open the case and testing the paint. “Everyone is invited, including Madi.”

Clarke’s eyes turned devious and she spun to look over at Madi. “You think Luca’s gonna be there with Murphy and Emori?”

Madi groaned at that and Bellamy and Clarke laughed, pulling her over to them for a quick hug before the girl pried herself away.

“I need to go get the flags from the door, “ she grumbled, pushing the two adults away and standing up. “And I wanna FaceTime some friends before we leave for the party.”

“Say hi to Luca from us!” Clarke called, snickering when Madi gave them one last hard look and burying her head into Bellamy’s chest. He curled his arms around her, struggling not to laugh along with her.

After a long moment of giggles, Clarke managed to calm down and pulled away, eyes sparkling. Bellamy immediately missed her close warmth, but the excitement in her gaze made up for it as she held up the face paint and the pink nail polish.

“Now. Are we gonna do this or not?”

“Duh,” Bellamy responded with a goofy grin, eliciting another half-suppressed laugh from her. “C’mere, gimme the paint.”

After a moment of pretend hesitation, she handed over the paint and he carefully opened it. He paused for a moment, trying to remember the order of the flag colors.

Clarke seemed to catch on, and it was confirmed when she guided his fingers over to the pink first silently, and he reached up to dab a hot pink line on each of her cheeks. Then the purple, then blue.

If he dabbed a little bit of paint on her nose just to get a chance to hear her giggle again, he was only human. Sue him.

Fifteen minutes later, Bellamy was finishing up with the small bisexual flags on his girlfriend’s cheeks when Clarke raised her hand to meet his, pausing his movements.

It’s a small intimate movement that has Bellamy’s heart skip a beat, when his dark brown eyes meet her soft blue.

“Are you good?” she asked hesitantly.

Bellamy looked on in surprise. “Of course. Why would I not be?”

“You know what I mean,” Clarke grumbled, turning her head to kiss at Bellamy’s palm until he gave her a small grin.

“Yeah,” he admitted softly, turning his gaze down. “I do.”

“Hey,” Clarke said, turning his face back to meet hers. “Look at me. What’s wrong?”

Bellamy inhaled for a moment, trying to gather his jumbled thoughts, then exhaled, before carefully responding.

“I wanna do this, don’t get me wrong,” he started. Clarke nodded, still studying him. “I guess I’m just… worried that everyone is going to make a big deal out of this and it’ll be uncomfortable.”

“Do you want me to call O?” Clarke asked, moving as if to pull away, but Bellamy vehemently shook his head, pulling her back. He loved his little sister and knew she would fully support him when he was ready to tell everyone, but she had a long-standing history of getting too into things, and it was the last thing Bellamy needed.

“Definitely not,” Bellamy muttered, pulling Clarke to his chest. She lay her head back on his shoulder, silently gazing up at him as if waiting for him to continue.

He hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“It’s just that… the only other people who know besides you are Octavia and Miller. It’s just so… weird finally being myself, it feels selfish.”

“Hey, nope,” she grumbled as he looked away again. “None of that.”

When they had readjusted, with her head laying in his lap and her hand reaching up to silently stroke his cheek, she continued.

“Bellamy Blake, you are the least selfish person on the planet. Doing something for yourself, especially expressing who you are, isn’t selfish in the slightest.”

Bellamy kissed her palm and she grinned a little at that before continuing.

“If you don’t want me to do it, I won’t. Whenever you’re ready, I’m always going to be here for you,” she promised, letting her hand drop back to her chest.

He shook his head after a moment, his eyes firmly meeting hers..

“I want to do it. Could we just… not make a big deal out of it tonight? Let people take it how they will?” Bellamy asked, forcing himself to keep his voice steady. Clarke nodded immediately.

“Of course,” she responded, sitting up and moving for the nail polish. “Whatever the hell you want, Mr. Blake.”

He smirked. “Well, Miss Griffin, guess you’d better take over here. Y’know, considering you’re the makeup extraordinaire here.”

Clarke flicked his nose with a clean nail art brush, grinning widely when he scrunched up his nose and batted the brush away.

“Alright, Blake, she said, turning back to pick up the soft pink polish. “Which hand do you want done first?”

Bellamy stuck out his left hand. “Go for it.”

She gently reached out for his hand, lifting the pinky specifically up and dabbing the paint with her pink paint and then carefully moving it over the nail.

After a moment, Clarke paused.

“What are you thinking about wearing tonight?”

He studied her for a moment with the smirk she knew and loved so much. “Why? Thinking about matching, you big dork?”

Clarke snorted. “Of course we’re going to match, babe.”

“Cool,” he said with a knowing grin. “We can do whatever you want.”

“One sec, let me finish this hand, then it can dry while I figure out clothing, and then we do your other hand,” she replied, and Bellamy used the hand that she wasn’t working on to brush a few stray strands of hair out of her face that had fallen from her bun.

After a few seconds, she pulled away, nodding to herself as she studied her work.

“I think this hand is good, but don’t touch anything yet. Blow on it a little, give it a chance to dry,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” Bellamy saluted and his girlfriend rolled her eyes playfully before bouncing off the bed and walking over to the closet, throwing it open with a flourish.

Clarke paused for a moment, studying the options, while Bellamy, alone on the bed began to inspect the nail polish, carefully blowing on it.

He had never had it done to himself before, only done it on Octavia a couple times when they were kids, when their mom was away and they had the chance to sneak into the bathroom and mess with her makeup. They never went anywhere with it, Octavia only dated one or two guys by the time she left the house and neither relationship went very far, but it was fun to mess around with.

The whole idea of putting makeup on himself had always been a little intimidating for Bellamy, in more than one way. Of course, he had never believed that any of the stuff was just for women, it was just… hard for him to want to do something nice for himself.

Clarke was the first person in his life, even before Octavia, who had wanted him as an equal. Not as a big brother, not as inspiration, just as someone she loved. And not in that way Bellamy naturally tried to love everyone… it was a selfish love, made for her and only her. It was thanks to her that he had started to find himself more as a person, which is why he wanted to do this. He was ready.

Speaking of his girlfriend, Clarke turned back to him, holding another tank top in one hand, this one light blue, and a pair of cut-off shorts.

“What about this for me?” she suggested, moving back to the bed and wrapping her arms around him from behind, leaning her chin on top of his shoulder while she placed the clothes on the bed in front of them.

“Sexy, I like it,” Bellamy murmured, getting yet another giggle out of Clarke. He turned his cheek back to her, breathing her in. “I might just wear this. Or change my shirt to something a little more presentable, we’ll see.”

Clarke pulled back, and moved back to the bed in front of him. “I mean, your outfit is really hot, I would approve.”

His breath caught as she lifted his left hand again to inspect how it was drying. “I’m glad I have your approval,” Bellamy managed to tease.

Seemingly deeming it dry enough for the moment, Clarke placed it back on his lap and picked up his right. “Do you know who’s going to be there tonight?” she asked, opening the case of blue and sweeping it over his thumb.

Bellamy closed his eyes and let himself be caught in the pleasant rhythm of the brush for a moment before responding. “Murphy is bringing Emori and Luca. Octavia and Raven are obviously going to be there, considering it’s at their place, and I think Miller and Monty, and Jasper and Maya, are going to be there as well.”

She nodded her approval, switching back to the pink for his pointer finger.

“It sounds like a good group,” Clarke responded. “Harper and Gaia couldn’t make it?”

He shook his head. “The two of them are out of town for the weekend, visiting Gaia’s family. She’s finally introducing Harper to her parents.”

Clarke laughed at that, almost dropping the containers of nail polish. “You think Harper can deal with Indra?”

Bellamy’s mind went back to the one time he had met Indra by accident, stumbling into Gaia’s hotel room to beg her for money for laundry detergent while the group was on a road trip together. The older woman had been more than a little intimidating, and gave off the “do-not-fuck-with” vibe. Bellamy had immediately apologized and practically sprinted from the room out of fear.

“If anyone can handle Gaia’s mom, it’s Harper,” he mused. “That girl simply gives zero fucks about anything, doesn’t she?”

Clarke let out a little laugh at that before replying, “You aren’t wrong.”

After a moment of silence, she grumbled out, “Stop fidgeting, Bell.”

“I’m not,” he muttered, clearly fidgeting as she painted his ring finger with the navy blue. She arched an eyebrow, in response and Bellamy rolled his eyes.

“Dumbass,” she said, clearly trying to hide a smile.

“C’mon, Clarke,” he teased, waggling his now long-dried hand in Clarke’s face. “You’re so close, just one more finger to go.”

“Be quiet,” she complained. “Can barely think with you talking.”

Bellamy just hummed, watching as a few more strands of hair fell from her bun while she meticulously did his right pinky finger.

Finishing it carefully, Clarke let his hand fall back into his lap, then turned back to place the nail polish back into its box as he lifted his hand up to blow on the nails again.

“What are we thinking of the black shirt?” he questioned, raising his eyes to meet hers as she turned back to grab the nail polish and tossing it on the drawer next to the bed.

“Instead of that?” Clarke asked, nodding to the gray sweater he was wearing.

Bellamy grinned before countering with, “What? You like this outfit, Griff?”

She blushed in response, turning her head away haughtily and refusing to deem it with a response. He beamed in response, “I think you do.”

“Ok, and?” Clarke snorted, waving her hand at him. “Can you blame me?”

“Am I hearing you call me hot?”, Bellamy questioned smugly. She swiped at him, pawing at his sweater until he laughed and fell next to her on the mattress.

“Maybe,” she groused. “If you’re feeling lucky.”

He grinned. “Which I am.”

“Bell,” Clarke whined and he tried to hold back a laugh, moving his hand up to collect all the hair that had fallen and moved it behind her ear.

Their eyes caught and she pulled him in for a quick kiss before moving her lips to his ear.

“We should probably check on Madi before we get ready ourselves,” she mumbled, clearly not actually wanting to get out of the comfort of the bed.

Bellamy groaned, knowing Clarke was probably right, and forced himself to sit up before turning to her. “You coming, Princess?”

She rolled her eyes affectionately and grabbed his outstretched hand, their fingers wrapping around one another without hesitation. Clarke made a big show of getting up, but he knew it was just her messing with him.

“C’mon, Blake,” she said, a smile tugging at her lips from where she stood above him. “Gotta go find the kid.”

Bellamy let her pull him and Clarke tugged him to the door, grinning like they were getting away with something. This is how all pretty girls should always look, he decided, as he trailed his girlfriend out the door and over to Madi’s room. Happy, comfortable, and at perfect peace with their world.

Clarke gently knocked on Madi’s door, turning the knob pushing it open a crack and the two of them peered in to find Madi herself, laughing in the corner while she apparently was talking to someone on her phone. She looked up at the sudden interruption and paled, but Bellamy and Clarke just smiled.

“Hey, Madi,” Clarke said, stepping into the room. “How’s everything?”

“Good,” the 13-year old replied, violently tapping at her screen for what Bellamy guessed was the mute button. When she seemingly found it, Madi tossed the phone onto the bed.

Bellamy stayed, watching from the door with a soft smile as Clarke walked over to Madi, petting the child’s hair. “You talking with Luca?” she asked, failing to hide the smirk, even from Bellamy himself. Madi moaned, pushing her away.

“Mom,” she whined. “Don’t you and Bellamy have a party to get ready for?”

“Technically, so do you,” Clarke pointed out. “You’re coming with us, right?”

“But I’m ready,” Madi responded, pointing down at her clothing. She wore the sweatpants she had stolen from her gym locker that someone had left in there, and a loose pink cropped tee with short sleeves. “This is what I’m wearing. I changed while the two of you were doing makeup or whatever.”

From the door, Bellamy watched the exchange happen between the two girls, his eyes soft and dancing with amusement. Clarke and Madi’s banter was one of the highlights of his day and it never ceased to amaze him how well the two got on.

Madi’s gaze turned to Bellamy and dropped to his hands, catching sight of the nail polish. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Clarke did a good job with your nails, Bellamy.”

He gave a little bow, a grin playing on his lips at the unexpected compliment. “Thank you, Madi.”

Clarke watched from between them, delight evident in her eyes, before cutting in. “Bellamy and I are going to go grab some food for the party from the corner store, and we’re gonna leave for Raven’s in an hour, ‘kay, Mads?”

The girl turned back to her phone, clearly disinterested in adult affairs. “Sounds good, see you guys in a while.”

Clarke made a move to walk back to Bellamy, but paused, eyes flickering back to Madi. After a moment of hesitation, she pressed a quick kiss to her child’s forehead and then hurried to Bellamy, who was full-on grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“Shut up,” Clarke muttered when she caught sight of his face, her cheeks heating up, and she pretended to push at his chest, but was instantly tugged to him.

“I didn’t say anything,” Bellamy protested and she rolled her eyes jokingly before walking off to find her car keys. Bellamy gave Madi one last wink and a salute before quietly closing the door so she could get back to her conversation on the phone.

Forty-five minutes later, Bellamy and Clarke walked back into the apartment, holding the food they had gotten under their arms. Dusk was finally settling and they had a few minutes before it was time to get going.

“Madi!” Clarke called into the empty apartment. There was the sound of a door opening, some shuffling, and the little girl stuck her head out into the main room.

“Oh, hi,” Madi grumbled. “You’re back.”

“That we are!” Clarke exclaimed cheerfully, pulling Madi in for a quick hug. “Can you help Bellamy decide what we’re bringing tonight while I run and change?”

Madi glanced over at Bellamy, who was clearly trying to not look like he was eavesdropping from the counter, then back to Clarke. A wide grin split her face, and she nodded.

“Bellamy, please say you got pineapple slices,” Madi whined, coming up behind him and trying to peer into the bags. From behind them, Clarke watched happily for a moment, then turned and hurried off to get ready.

“Of course I did,” Bellamy replied, holding up a small plastic container of pineapple slices for the girl to see. “Do you take me for a heathen?”

Madi tried reaching for them but Bellamy set them just out of reach, causing Madi to groan.

“Please say we're bringing them tonight, at least.”

Bellamy nodded, distracted as he tried to reorganize Clarke’s milk so the bread would fit in her fridge. “You know it. Can you help me with the peanut butter?”

Madi’s nose wrinkled and Bellamy gave her a smirk. “Madi, just because you think it’s gross doesn’t mean it’s going to hurt you if you touch it.”

She glared at him, hesitantly reaching out for it and holding onto it by the lid only.

“Ok, and? It’s disgusting.”

“Madi.”

 _“Fine!_ I’m going, I’m going. Calm down.”

The two of them organized the rest of the groceries in the near quiet, only talking when they suggested foods for tonight. They ended up deciding on the pineapple, as well as a liter of Coke that Clarke had snuck into the food.

As they put the food next to the door, near the box of mini flags, Madi spoke.

“For what it’s worth, the nail polish is definitely a good look on you.”

Bellamy raised his head to see the girl nervously meet his gaze, clearly worried that she had overstepped. He simply smiled, giving her a quick hug. “Thank you, Madi. It means a lot.”

She relaxed in his arms, returning the hug for a moment before a cough behind them startled them apart. They pulled away to find Clarke watching, leaning against the fridge, wearing the outfit she had shown Bellamy earlier.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Clarke said, giving Bellamy a shit-eating grin. He rolled his eyes and tugged her over to him and Madi.

“You look absolutely stunning tonight,” he teased.

Madi snorted. “She’s wearing what she always wears, Bellamy.”

“And your mom looks gorgeous in everything, Madi,” he responded easily, slinging an arm around Clarke’s shoulder and hoisting the box of flags into his arms. “What do you think, kiddo? Can you get the food?”

Madi studied him for a moment, then gave him a knowing grin and reached down, picking up the flags and dashing out the door with a second glance back, winking at Clarke.

Bellamy glanced over at his girlfriend in time to catch her rolling her eyes, trying to hide her broad smile..

“You ready, m’lady?” he asked, bowing and catching her hand. Clarke looked over, her breath catching as he gently kissed the back of her hand. Even though they had been together for a while now, Bellamy always managed to knock her off her feet when she least expected it.

She forced herself back into reality and smiled from ear to ear. “Alright, Bell. Let’s do this.”

Bellamy grinned, linking arms with her pulling her towards the elevator where Madi was waiting.

“Finally,” she moaned as the elevator opened and the three of them walked in side-by-side. “Took you guys _and_ the elevator more than long enough.”

They laughed and talked about their respective days the whole way to Bellamy’s truck, parked in the tiny lot next to the apartment complex. Bellamy lifted Madi into the truck, tickling her for a moment to get her to giggle, then opened the passenger door for Clarke.

“Your carriage awaits,” he said, gesturing to the waiting vehicle.

“Thank you, good sir,” Clarke replied with a smirk, piling into the truck. She set the food down by her feet and glanced back at Madi to make sure she was settled in, while Bellamy came into the driver’s side.

He started the car, pulling out of the lot and driving down the road. Clarke flicked the radio on, settling on music while she glanced over at Bellamy, studying his nails to make sure none of the paint had flicked off. Thankfully, all of the paint was still sticking and Bellamy hadn’t knocked any off yet.

They sat in the near quiet, talking occasionally about things of interest that passed by them. It took a little while before they finally got to Raven’s, but when they did, Clarke grabbed the box of flags and Bellamy reached over and handed split the food with Madi.

Grinning at them, Madi raced ahead again into the apartment complex, waving at a few people who passed by. She waved at the people behind the desk as they walked into the building, Clarke pausing to text Raven that they were there.

The three of them lugged their things up a flight of stairs, and Bellamy, who was so focused on not dropping the pineapple slices, almost ran into Miller while Clarke was holding the door for him and Madi.

“Hey, man!” Miller exclaimed, giving him a quick side hug, avoiding the pineapples. Bellamy grinned in response.

“Hey, Miller. Everyone else here?” he questioned.

Miller nodded. “Everyone except Jasper and Maya. They’re running a little late, traffic or some shit, I think.”

Clarke made her way through the doorway, letting it slam shut behind her, and her eyes lit up when she saw Miller.

“Nate!” she exclaimed, rushing to awkwardly hug him. Miller laughed and pulled Madi in, giving the two of them a little hug.

There was a cough from behind them, and they turned to find Monty watching, clearly holding back a laugh.

Madi rushed to him before anyone could react. “Hey, Uncle Monty!”

Monty gave her a soft smile, reaching his arms around to hug her, before turning to the others. 

“How are you guys?” he asked Bellamy and Clarke, gesturing towards the door for Raven’s apartment. “It’s been a minute since you’ve been around. We missed you.”

“Busy,” Bellamy replied, exchanging a smile with Clarke while Madi dashed into the apartment and Miller walked around the two of them, kissing Monty on the cheek before following her in. “Summer’s been easy on me, but you know the ER never stops for Clarke.”

Before Monty or Miller could respond, a familiar high-pitched voice shrieked out from the far side of the apartment.

_“Is that my brother?”_

Bellamy barely had time to set the food down on the table before Octavia barrelled in, body checking Miller into the wall on the way, before jumping into Bellamy’s arm. Staggering backwards, the older Blake choked off a laugh and wrapped his arms around his sister.

Just behind her, he saw Raven enter, flicking off Murphy as she walked into the main room.

“Hey, Raven,” Clarke said warmly, setting the flags down next to the food and moving to hug her friend. With a grin, Raven limped over and pulled Clarke tightly in for a hug.

After a moment, Octavia pulled away, and Bellamy finally got the chance to look her up and down. It had been months since he had last seen his little sister, and while she didn’t look too different, her dark-brown hair had grown out and was now almost to her hips. She had clearly spent a while on her makeup, the bi flag colors decorating her eyelids.

Suddenly, Octavia’s eyes landed on his hands. More specifically, his nails.

Both of the siblings paused and Bellamy’s breath caught. Everyone in the room seemed to be unaware of what was going on, but Bellamy’s gaze had honed in on his sister.

After a brief pause, he watched her gaze warm impossibly and she leaned up to give him a quick cheek kiss. “I’m proud of you, big brother.”

Octavia finally pulled away, tugging Bellamy to see the others. While he greeted Murphy and Emori, watching Madi and Luca greet each other out of the corner of his eye, Octavia hugged Raven from behind her back. Clarke grinned at them both.

“I’m glad to see you two are doing well,” she said, nodding to the two girls’ intertwined hands. Raven simply laughed in response and turned her head to kiss Octavia for a moment before turning her attention back to Clarke.

“So are you,” Raven replied. “Look at us, Clarke, we both got a Blake.”

Clarke choked back a laugh, half-distracted as she poured herself some Coke. “The Clarke Griffin and Raven Reyes of two years ago would be so jealous.”

She turned her gaze to Octavia. “Go enjoy the party, both of you. You’re both so goddamn loud, go say hi to Madi.”

The two girls giggled, and left Clarke to her own devices with one last wave. She watched them go, a smile playing her lips, before she snuck up behind Bellamy, who had begun a conversation with Emori, debating some ancient myth that only they knew. Murphy spotted her first, and beamed at her.

“Clarke, _finally._ Get me out of here, I’m surrounded by _nerds_.”

Emori gently punched him in the side in retaliation, and he rolled to his side on the couch in mock pain. “C’mon, ‘Mori,” he whined. “Don’t be mean in front of Bellamy and Clarke.”

She turned her eyes back to the two of them, all rolling their eyes and Clarke stifling a laugh, before calling out to Luca and Madi.

“Hey, just so you two know, there’s food over there,” she said, nodding to the table where everyone had placed their stuff. “You can just ignore us adults if you want.”

Madi let out a huff, and pulled Luca past them along behind her to the table. As she passed Raven and Octavia, the latter reached out and mussed up Madi’s hair, tugging at her braid. Madi giggled, pulling away.

“Hi, Octavia,” the girl allowed and Octavia smirked.

“Hey, kid. Enjoy the party.”

Madi’s face lit up, and Clarke watched happily. A year ago, she would have been concerned about Octavia’s influence on Madi, but the young woman had changed from the dark, quiet, and withdrawn kid, and had slowly but surely become the bright and genuinely happy- or at least attempting to be- young woman from all of Bellamy’s stories about the Blake siblings’ childhood.

Speaking of Bellamy, he had fallen back into the debate with Emori. She caught a couple mentions of Hercules and a bull, and grinned. Greek mythology was one of Bellamy’s biggest strengths, and a conversation between him and Emori, who also knew her fair share of the history, would last hours if she and Murphy weren’t careful.

Murphy caught her eye and gestured for her to get up. Clarke carefully detached herself from Bellamy, giving him one last kiss to his jaw before idling up next to Murphy, who handed her the glass of Coke she had left on the table and led her past Monty and Raven out onto the porch overlooking the downtown.

The two friends sat in silence for a moment, sipping their drinks and enjoying the quiet buzz of everyone else inside, before Murphy spoke up.

“I like Bellamy’s nail polish.”

Clarke’s head snapped up and she studied him. He waved at her, clearly sensing her worry.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t bring it up. It’s not my place, and he’ll talk about it when he’s ready. Besides,” Murphy continued, winking at her, “you’re getting better with doing people’s nails.”

She gasped in mock offense. “John Murphy, the one time you’ve actually seen me do someone’s nails for an event was for prom in high school while we were getting high with Zoe Monroe.”

Murphy slapped her, grinning. “We really went and stole Jasper’s weed, huh?”

Before she could respond, a shout came from inside and Murphy leaned over to see what was happening. A smirk formed on his face. “Speak of the devil, Jordan and his girlfriend are here.”

Clarke raised an eyebrow, a grin forming on her face as she and Murphy made their way back into the apartment to find Jasper and Miller tossing a bottle of moonshine between the two of them and Bellamy. When Bellamy saw Clarke and Murphy, he grinned and hurried over, fist-bumping Murphy before wrapping his arms around Clarke and snuggling behind her.

“Hey, Jasper,” Clarke called out, waving to him and Maya, the latter of whom had made her way to the food table and was greeting Raven and Octavia.

“Clarke!” her friend exclaimed, rushing over and nearly tripping. She watched them rush over, fighting to hold back a grin as they almost tripped over the couch where Emori was sitting.

She pulled Jasper in for a quick hug, and then Bellamy took his turn, wrapping his arms around their old friend.

Maya made her way over, and she and Clarke exchanged quick greetings. The two girls didn’t know each other very well, but were on good terms and had met through Jasper.

Suddenly, Murphy tapped Clarke’s back. She glanced back at him to find him nodding to Madi and Luca.

“The kids seem to be doing well,” he commented, raising his cup of what looked like a combination of moonshine and root beer. Internally, Clarke shuddered at the thought of what it tasted like.

“Relax, Murphy,” Bellamy’s familiar voice said and Clarke relaxed back into his warmth. “We all know Madi could kick Luca’s ass if she wanted to.”

Murphy snorted, reaching out to pat Bellamy’s shoulder as he moved past him and Clarke back to where Emori was waiting. “Not my biggest concern there, Blake.”

Bellamy and Clarke watched him and the others all mix together, Clarke pressing herself under his chin.

“Madi would definitely have loved to hear you say that,” Clarke told him with a grin, brushing her fingertips over his jawline. Bellamy raised an eyebrow in response.

“Oh, I’m well aware. Kid could probably kick my ass too if she wanted, she is your daughter after all,” he replied.

Clarke snorted, biting back a grin, and watched as Monty and Jasper argued over what music to play in the far corner.

“You wanna go make those idiots play something?” she asked her boyfriend, looking up at him. He glanced over at the two guys and rolled his eyes playfully.

“Alright, but you probably already know what I’m going to play.”

She giggled. “I’m counting on it.”

Bellamy walked off towards his friends, who were still bickering, and immediately, Clarke felt another presence next to her. She turned to find Octavia standing next to her.

The slightly shorter brunette had her eyes trained on Bellamy, but she sensed Clarke’s gaze and turned her head to acknowledge her. The two women stood in silence for a moment, taking everything in, before Octavia spoke.

“Thank you, Clarke,” she said softly. Clarke stared at her, tilting her head ever so slightly.

“For taking care of him,” Octavia amended, and it clicked in Clarke’s mind. She opened her mouth to speak, but Octavia cut her off with a quick shake of her head. “For most of my life, I’ve watched Bellamy take care of everyone around him, myself included, and looking back, he never got anything in return.”

Clarke nodded, knowing the whole story already.

“When you guys met at that stupid party our freshman year of college, I never thought I’d see the day where you two were on good terms. Here you guys are, five years later and you’re dating. So umm.. thank you for being there for him when I couldn’t be.”

Clarke hesitated before answering, watching Bellamy fumble with the controls for the music. “He helped himself and it’s always going to be on him, but I’ve always been there as support. I always will be.”

Octavia hesitantly, patting Clarke’s shoulder before she walked off back to her girlfriend. “Thank you again, Clarke.”

After a pause, Clarke made her way over to Bellamy, who was finally figuring out the speakers. _Cool for the Summer_ by Demi Lovato blasted and Clarke watched as Raven and Octavia started dancing, grabbing Monty along the way.

Bellamy turned, finding Clarke behind him, and his face broke out into a huge grin. He reached a hand out, spinning her and catching her before she could fall backwards.

She was giggling uncontrollably by the time they finished, and Clarke reached out, grabbing one of the pastries that Raven had left out on the table, before feeding a little bit to him.

Bellamy laughed, the rare, real laugh that she loved so much, taking a bite from the dessert in her hand and cradling her head in his other hand. For a moment, the world seemed to stop around them and it was just the two of them.

The song finally ended, and they slowed their dance, making their way back to the couches where Clarke flopped down next to Emori, Maya, and Miller, who caught her before she could fall. Bellamy fell down next to them and Octavia and Raven joined in after a moment.

“God, this feels nice,” Raven murmured, looking around. “Jasper! Monty! Get the hell over here, we’re having a family bonding moment.”

“Coming!” Monty called, pressing a few more keys, and grabbing at Jasper’s arm. They followed the other adults down to the couches. Clarke glanced over at Madi to make sure she was alright, double checking that she and Luca were relaxing out on the porch. They seemed like they were doing alright, so she turned around as Miller started talking.

“Since Clarke and Bellamy haven’t been around much recently, they should start,” he offered, waving his arm to the two of them.

Bellamy looked over at her and raised an eye. “You wanna take this one, Griffin?”

She snorted. “There’s nothing much to tell, to be honest. ER shifts have been busy as ever, if not more so considering it’s the start of summer, and Bellamy’s been taking time off.”

“The face paint is sexy,” Raven commented, pointing to Clarke’s face with the tip of one of the bi flags she had stolen from the box. “Blake do that?”

Clarke snorted and gave Bellamy a quick grin. “Yeah. I think he did a great job.”

“It’s definitely one of Bellamy’s finer moments with makeup,” Octavia teased, offering her brother a small smile as she popped open a root beer and downed it. “Lord knows he’s had his moments with that shit.”

“I’ll have you know I’m great at makeup,” Bellamy grumbled and everyone began laughing. Clarke stretched out on the couch, her head in his lap as she gazed up at him warmly. He shifted to a comfortable position where he could loosely braid her hair.

Emori cut in. “Clarke, I’m assuming you did his nails?”

Both Bellamy and Clarke froze, their gaze shifting from one another back to their friends. Bellamy coughed, clearly caught by surprise, and she reached a hand out to his shoulder for comfort.

“Yeah,” Bellamy managed, forcing his eyes to meet the others. He could do this, he was ready. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Madi look over and give him a thumbs-up.

“Clarke did my nails for tonight,” he continued. “I guess it’s a part of me.”

The others seemed to pick up on his meaning and Clarke leaned into him for support. After a moment of hesitation, Miller grabbed him by the shoulders and tugged him and Clarke in for a group hug. Caught by surprise, Clarke let out a burst of laughter that got cut off when Luca and Madi jumped in.

Raven’s familiar weight leaned on top of Clarke after a moment, and she caught a glimpse of Octavia’s gaze on the other side of the hug. Clarke assumed Murphy, Monty, and the others had joined as well.

“Love you guys,” Bellamy’s muffled voice said through the hug and Clarke blindly reached out, squeezing at what seemed to be his shoulder. It was hard to tell with Luca practically laying on top of her.

“Love you too, babe,” Clarke replied. “But I’m roughly thirty seconds from suffocation over here.”

Everyone struggled off at that and she snorted. “Never realized you guys cared about me that much.”

Jasper slapped her arm. “Don’t get used to it, Griffin.”

Murphy, who was already making his way to the music table- never one to be comfortable with affection- called out to Bellamy.

“Bellamy! Get your ass over here, you’re the only one here besides Reyes and my girlfriend with decent music taste, make sure Green and Jasper don’t get to pick the music for the night. _Please._ ”

Jasper leaped up, trying to push their way past Bellamy, but Clarke watched in amusement as her boyfriend easily caught them and tossed them back onto the couch. “Relax, Jordan. I got this one.”

As everyone settled back, and Clarke relaxed into the couch, closing her eyes, the annoyingly familiar beat of Lady Gaga’s _Born This Way_ started beating and Bellamy lifted her from where she was laying, catching her by surprise.

“Bellamy!” she gasped and he snorted.

“Relax, Princess. Live a little,” he said, pulling her over to where Octavia and Monty were dancing together. “The princess needs to party, don’t you guys think?”

“ _Hell_ yes,” Octavia replied, grabbing Clarke’s hand and spinning her. Caught off guard, Clarke almost tripped but Bellamy managed to catch her before she could stumble.

Clarke suddenly laughed, clear and happy, as she managed to calm down and relax again into her boyfriend’s arms.

“Thank you, Bell,” she whispered into his ear. He pulled back and tilted his head.

“I didn’t do anything, Griffin,” he responded, taking her in. “If anyone should be thanking anyone else here, it should be me thanking you.”

She shook her head, and leaned her forehead into his chest.

“Thank you for being you, Bell.”


End file.
